Ch. III
Black. It was all she could see. She didn't mind black. Black was her favorite color. Such a beautiful color.
But this was just too much.
She took a step forward, the sound of her footstep echoing in the emptiness. Where was she? She frowned, trying to remember.
"Ari!"
Reina. Hikaru. They had been taken. But by whom? And where? Were they still alive somewhere, lost as she was?
Familiar beady yellow orbs flickered ahead. She forced her eyes to focus, but there was nothing.
She heard whispers.
Her feet spun her around and around. What was she hearing? Where was it coming from?
Suddenly she felt nothing beneath her feet, and the sensation of falling invaded her senses. She screamed, but her voice faded to nothing. She shut her eyes against the feeling, panic seizing her. Her breathing shallowed. It took her several moments before she tried to open them again, realizing abruptly that she had stopped. When she looked around, she was floating only inches above the ground, blades of grass barely grazing her feet. She looked up, her feet touched the ground, and she stood still. There was someone there in front of her. He was standing under the cover of trees, and most of his features were hidden.
His lips moved.
She squinted, trying to listen to his words and read his lips at the same time. It was in vain.
Without warning, a light shot from his chest, passing through hers before she had a chance to react. She stared down at the cylinder of light that now dug an empty space within her. Wha-? She turned to look behind her. Reina stood there, reaching out to her. She called out, but it didn't seem to reach her. Her arm stretched out toward the younger girl, but her feet were stuck. Everything was now white around her. The white hole in her chest remained.
It's too late... A voice whispered. She snapped her head to the right. The figure stood there, hidden in the brilliant light. His lips moved. Too far... he seemed to whisper. Too dark... it's growing.
"Who are you?" she asked him softly. "Who are you?!" She tried again, louder.
I will find you, she thought she heard him whisper, and a shudder erupted through her body. He began to fade.
"Wait!" A sudden desperate fear clung to her heart. Who was he? Where did he come from? Did she know him? Could he tell her what was happening? Don't leave me! She had the sudden urge to scream. Tears welled up in her eyes as she choked down silent sobs, but his figure was that of a ghost's.
Without Darkness, there is no Light. Without Light, there is no Darkness. A male voice, soothing and strangely familiar, spoke to her, loud and clear. This was his voice, she somehow knew, but she'd never heard it before.
"What do I do?!" the question came out before she knew what she was saying, and it didn't stop there. Her voice was acting on its own. "You can't leave me here! Tell me what to do! Don't leave me alone!"
His figure disappeared completely. The key is broken. The bridge is adrift. Then, everything went black. Darkness spreads within; we're running out of time.
Her eyes snapped open. His voice echoed in her mind.
What...?
Her brows came to a point. Stars twinkled before her. It seemed she was facing the night sky. Confusion filled her. Stars?
Willing herself to move, her sore arms painfully obeyed by lifting her off the hard, uneven surface she found herself sleeping on. She blinked, trying to push aside the haze that seemed to cloud her mind. Where am I? She groaned, putting a palm to her forehead. Damn, my body hurts... Turning on her side slightly to attempt to stand brought on an immediate wave of vertigo. Scrambling to right herself, she found herself suddenly alert, studying her surroundings with wide eyes.
It was higher ground. She could see what looked like rooftops surrounding her, each merely a few feet apart. She glanced down. Sure enough, there was rooftop beneath her. Now it made sense: what she felt digging into her back when she'd woken were the roof's maroon colored shingles, and the loss of balance was because the friction of her clothes, dark jeans and a black tank top over a black sports bra, against said shingles were the only things keeping her from sliding right down its slopes.
Carefully, she braved a peek down the side of the building. The ground was just far enough that she'd likely break a few bones trying to climb down.
Great. With a heavy sigh, she maneuvered herself onto all fours and crawled around, searching for some other way down. Maybe there was a ladder or something? Or a window? Or a balcony to drop on? Something? Anything?
Ah! A satisfied smile spread across her lips. Better than nothing. Below her were crates stacked up strategically, high enough that she could climb down without having to lose a limb or two.
Slowly, carefully, she slid herself down to the topmost crate, then to the second, then leapt down to the ground. She squared her shoulders, dusted off her hands, then rested them on her hips with a triumphant smirk. Painful, but it worked. She stretched her limbs. Now... some painkillers for the soreness, maybe? But where would one go about looking for anything in this unfamiliar place? Only one way to find out, her mind told her. Now she took the moment to look around. It was a small alley around her, barely lit. She followed it along to its exit, and found herself facing open space surrounded by the doors to what looked like multiple shops, a few neon signs hanging above that she didn't particularly feel like bothering her eyes with. A little further ahead was a set of stairs leading down to a courtyard, a café with outdoor tables on one side, a wall of windows and balconies on the other, and a set of humongous double doors that she figured served as an exit of some sort directly ahead.
Instead of heading down the steps, she decided to explore some more; with some luck, she would run into someone who could tell her what was going on. She took a left and continued farther into this strange, oddly silent city. It lead her up some other steps, around a few corners, and eventually to another set of double doors about half the size of the last. She looked around; there was no one to direct her. With a shrug, she placed a palm on each door and pushed.
The hinges creaked softly at the movement, revealing beyond them buildings with blue, green, and orange lights filtering through the windows and glowing from the street lamps. Cautiously she walked forward to the edge, where the ground ended in a balcony overlooking another long, narrow courtyard. Peering into it, she noticed the upper level she was on extended to either side of her, stretching out into two separate walkways, one to her left that stretched on to other buildings and another to her right that folded into descending stairs looking back up at her. She wondered what she would find down there.
Then, strangely, the hairs on the back of her neck lifted. Her body went stiff. With a slow, shaky breath, she carefully turned to look behind her and came face to face with familiar glowing yellow orbs, those annoying antennas making her twitch with every twitch of their own. Not again. Her breathing shallowed and every beat of her heart seemed to want to explode against her eardrums. More appeared, slithering around in the ground before popping out to join their friends. They were closing her in against the dark stone rail.
One leapt at her, drawing its claw back, and she threw her arm up to shield herself. It swiped, and she felt it slice through her skin. She hissed at the pain, cursing under her breath.
Another one tried to swipe at her, but she stepped aside at the last moment, her survival instinct kicking in. She had to get away from these things at all cost.
She heard a poof from somewhere beside her, and a strange, blue-clad creature uncurled itself in midair as it clamored into existence right before her eyes. Another poof in the other direction. Then another. And another.
Panic began to take hold. There was no end. They would just keep coming.
Two of the yellow eyed creatures pounced in on her from two separate directions. With a cry, she threw herself down on the ground and huddled into a ball, both arms covering her head. They were on top of her. Others crowded in around her. She screamed. "Get away from me! Go away!" She pushed her arms up in an attempt to throw them off of her, but they would barely budge. Claws of black covered the ground from her line of vision. More claws scratched and dug at her back. "What do you want from me?!" She shrieked.
More poofs filled her ears. At the sound of them, her heart sank miserably. Was this really the end for her? She shut her eyes tight, bracing herself for whatever end came next.
"Get up," a deep voice instructed. One eye opened in surprise before another followed.
She shifted her vision left to right, but she saw no creepy black claws. A few more poofs reached her ears, and she flinched, waiting for something to pounce on her again, the weight on her back now gone. When it didn't, she hesitantly let herself out of her ball, lifting her head to see a pair of legs a mere foot away from her. She traced them up to a white-clad torso, leather-clad arms, shoulders, and finally a head framed in brown hair.
"...Umm..." She blinked.
"Get. Up."
She gulped, but obeyed, holding onto the balcony ledge for balance as she leaned back away from him. "Did you..."
"You should go back to First District."
"You... saved me?"
"Leave," he turned on his heels and began strolling away, a huge sword-thing she just noticed held leisurely upon his shoulders. Huge, she mentally emphasized.
"Wait!"
He stopped.
"Who are you? And what is this place? Did you really just kill those things?" She winced, remembering the swipe at her arm from earlier. Where were the bodies?
He turned only half way toward her, as if he were already bored. "Another new one, huh?"
She blinked back in surprise.
A soft, almost lazy sigh escaped him, and she scowled at him. His behavior irked her. Suddenly he straightened up, looking directly at her now, a brow raised, and for the first time she got a glimpse of the scar etched diagonally across the bridge of his nose. She mentally winced at the thought of such an experience. "You're hurt," he told her simply.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Instead she shrugged, putting a hand over the wound. It stung, warm and wet. Blood. Ugh, she inwardly groaned. I refuse to see the damage.
"Come with me," he said.
"Why?"
He glanced at her over his shoulder. "To fix it," and he walked.
She subconsciously shook her head at him, finding it hard to believe that of all people she could have been rescued by, it turned out to be the kind of guy who would, of course, somehow know how to frustrate her further. It didn't matter that he also happened to be incredibly attractive. Not at all. Shut up. He's trying to help you, her mind logically supplied, and she reluctantly obeyed both its implicit and implied commands, rushing behind her rescuer to catch up with his brisk strides.
Ari stared. And stared. And stared. Then blinked. And then stared some more, gaping. A soft, feminine laugh erupted from beside her.
"How did you do that?"
She giggled. This person – Aerith, as the man had introduced her after some fuss for bringing her to a room in a small hotel – used some kind of... power, and in seconds the gash in her arm was gone. Just like that! Vanished! As if it were never there!
Unbelievable.
"It's a healing spell," she explained gently.
"A spell?" Ari looked up into her soft green eyes. "Like... magic?"
Aerith nodded, smiling.
Ari exhaled in awe. Magic. Real magic. Real, in-your-face, showy, sparkly, pretty, colorful, useful magic. She couldn't believe it.
"So, where do you come from?"
All happy thoughts instantly vanished from her mind. A picture of home formed in their place, and she hung her head in dread. Aerith watched silently, her expression softening in understanding.
"I see... Have you just arrived, then?"
Ari stared up at her in surprise. 'New one,' that other guy had said. Did this sort of thing happen often? Were there others in her situation? Did that mean she would find the others here, too? Hope filled her. That was great news! Well... relatively great. But great!
"Those creatures that attacked you are called Heartless," Aerith interrupted her thoughts, elaborating with, "Those without hearts."
"Heartless?" She hadn't asked for an explanation, but she wanted one regardless. It was about time some light was shed on her situation. Those creatures, those freaks, stole two of the most important people in her life from her, snatched them away right before her eyes. They stole Reina. Reina! Who in their right mind would attempt such a thing knowing she was her sister? Ari would find out. Then she'd find a way to erase them if it was the last thing she did.
A calm nod. "They're created from the darkness in people's hearts."
"Why are they after us?"
"They're after every heart," she replied. Then, "Are they what happened to your world?"
Ari stared at her. My world...? She would have asked more, asked how Aerith knew such a thing, but somehow, looking in her eyes curiously, she got the feeling the older girl knew a great deal, enough to overwhelm her current state of mind. Instead, she said, "They took my sister. And Hikaru. Have you seen them? Can I find them here?" It would be perfect. They'd reunite and go home, and forget this crazy shit ever happened.
Aerith watched the girl's eyes light up in hope, but she could only helplessly shake her head. "I'm sorry," she said sadly as the hope dimmed in Ari's eyes.
Silence remained as Ari fought the sadness that threatened to flood her senses. Reina... She pushed it aside forcefully. This was neither the place nor the time. Then something occurred to her. "That man..." she began, "he fought them. Got rid of them... Saved me."
She nodded. "That man is Leon."
"Leon..." she repeated. "Can you fight them, too?"
Another nod.
"Will you teach me?"
Finally, a reaction. Apparently, this question she was not expecting. She remained silent for a moment, contemplating the suggestion. "I'll speak to Leon," she finally answered with a smile.
"Hmm..." this wasn't the answer she wanted. As strong – and attractive, she reminded herself – as he was, he made her feel awkward. She didn't much like this Leon. But she figured, seeing as how he had brought her here to have her healed, Aerith's abilities were probably more concentrated on healing. She mentally groaned. Did Aerith really have to include him?
The healer giggled, as if she somehow had an inkling as to the thoughts running through Ari's head. "Don't worry. He's not so bad. I promise."
A skeptical grin was all she could muster. "But I don't have any weapons... Or magic." That's right. Her fists didn't seem to faze those Heartless in the least. Training would be useless without something to train with.
"I'm sure we'll think of something," Aerith smiled again, and one look at her sent a wave of relief through Ari's body. No wonder she was a healer. She made everything seem so... calm.
Finally, Ari mirrored her smile. "Thank you."
